


the darkness is a clear view (you've come to rescue me)

by spiritsontheroof



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Jack Dalton Loves Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), M/M, Multi, Riley Davis Loves Angus MacGyver, Worried Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016), he will break ur little heart, let mac be happy, mac is happy at the end but sad the rest of the time, this is NOT a macriley fic, worried riley davis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23745454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritsontheroof/pseuds/spiritsontheroof
Summary: If Riley is being honest, seeing Mac so down breaks her heart. She’s never known this side of him, the side that doesn’t smile or sing along to the radio in the truck or laugh at Bozer’s jokes after too many beers. It’s unsettling, it’s upsetting, and she just wants to fix it. And she doesn’t mean fix him, no, because he isnot broken. He’s just had a hard year, and it has put storm clouds in his eyes, and Riley intends on doing everything she can to make them dissipate.
Relationships: Jack Dalton (MacGyver TV 2016) & Riley Davis, Jack Dalton/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 88





	the darkness is a clear view (you've come to rescue me)

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys! hope you enjoy this.  
> spoilers for 4x10  
> titile is pieces of me by ashlee simpson

If Riley is being honest, seeing Mac so down breaks her heart. She’s never known this side of him, the side that doesn’t smile or sing along to the radio in the truck or laugh at Bozer’s jokes after too many beers. It’s unsettling, it’s upsetting, and she just wants to fix it. And she doesn’t mean fix _him_ , no, because he is _not_ broken. He’s just had a hard year, and it has put storm clouds in his eyes, and Riley intends on doing everything she can to make them dissipate. 

She brainstorms for weeks about what to do, and before she can try _anything_ , Desi breaks things off with Mac. _Again._ It happens one day while she’s at Bozer’s, because she comes back and all Desi’s things are gone, and Mac is sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, shoulders shaking with silent tears. 

After that, Riley does everything she can think to do while they’re not working. She takes him for karaoke and drinks, orders his favorite take out and marathons action movies with him, takes him for pizza and Skee-Ball like Jack always did to cheer her up. 

“What’s all this about, Riley?” Mac finally asks in the middle of their most recent movie night, pausing right in the middle of _The Bourne Identity._

“What? The movie? Have you not been paying attention?” Riley asks, feigning ignorance and Mac raises his eyebrows at her because she should know better than to play dumb with him. 

“ _This.”_ Mac gestures, to the movie and the popcorn on the table. “The movie nights, Skee-Ball trips. Why are you doing this?” He asks, tone soft with genuine curiosity. 

Riley looks at him from the opposite end of the couch, thinks about keeping up the ignorance. It will never work on him and you know it, she tells herself, so she sighs and pulls her knees to her chest. 

“You’ve just been so,” she trails off, doesn’t know how to describe it, “depressed,” she finally settles on, shrugging her shoulders. “I just thought maybe I could help, cheer you up, show you that you’re not alone.” 

“Oh, Riley,” Mac says softly, reaches out and grabs her hand. How lucky is he to have someone like her? Someone who cares so much, who always has his back, someone who would go to all this trouble just to make him feel better. “I appreciate it. And it helps. Keeps me from living in my own head, getting lost in my own thoughts.” He assures her, realizing he’s never thanked her. 

Riley smiles at him, squeezes his hand. “After Jack left and I broke up with Billy, I’d never been so lost. So alone. And you made sure I knew I always had someone. I just wanted you to know the same thing. And I know I can’t fix it, no matter how much I would like to. But I just want you to feel like you again.” She says, tears pooling in her eyes. 

Mac moves closer to her, pulling her into his chest to hug her. “I know I’m not alone. Thanks to you.” He whispers and kisses the side of her head. “You know, I was in the same boat as you after Jack left. I felt so alone, like I didn’t have anyone to watch my back. It had been so long since I had done this job without him. And then I realized, you know, that I had you. And that you understood, and that no matter how much I felt like no one saw me, you always did.” Mac says, wiping at the tears that are pooling in his eyes. 

Riley drops her feet off the couch to the floor and wraps her arms tightly around Mac. She thanks Jack silently, wherever he is, for bringing them together and making her apart of this little family of theirs. “I always see you, Mac. I’m always here.” She assures him and feels him nod. 

They sit like that for a while, just holding on and crying a little because honestly, they’ve both had a hard couple of years. After a few minutes, Mac sniffs and then lets out a shaky breath. 

"I miss him. I wish he were here.” Mac says weakly and Riley can tell he’s crying harder than she thought he was. 

“I know. Me, too. He’ll be home as soon as he can.” Riley says, hoping it comforts him because she’s not just saying that, she means it. Knows it’s true. Jack would never stay away from her, from Mac, any longer than he was forced to. 

And she knows Mac had a tough time when he left, knows that’s when he started becoming this lackluster version of himself he had been this last year or so, because Mac had loved him. Riley loves Jack, he was the closest to a father she had ever had. But it’s a different kind of love from what Mac feels for Jack, and she knows it makes it that much harder. 

Mac lets her go, wipes the tears from his eyes, smiles sadly at her. “Goodnight, Riles,” he says, kisses her on the forehead, and then walks silently to his bedroom. 

Riley stays on the couch for a while after, feeling sorry for herself and for Mac, and she goes to bed that night knowing _exactly_ how she’s going to get Mac feeling better again. 

* * *

Riley goes to the Phoenix the next morning, giving Mac some lame ass excuse about sparring practice with Desi that she knows he doesn’t believe, and she asks Matty to help her get the ball rolling on her little plan. 

“I need you to get Jack off that task force,” Riley asks, hoping Matty doesn’t bite her head off for such a huge, impossible request. 

“And why would I do that?” Matty asks, leveling Riley with a look that would strike fear into the heart of a grown man. 

“Because Mac needs him. He’s all screwed up about his dad, about his crazy aunt, about him and Desi splitting again, and I think the only way to get him feeling better again is to bring Jack home.” Riley explains, tone begging. 

Matty looks at her for a moment, like she’s contemplating Riley’s words. Riley knows that Matty notices Mac’s desolate attitude, and she hopes that’ll be enough to make Matty want to at least try. 

Matty sighs after a few minutes and nods. “Okay. I will do what I can. I am not making you any promises and you are not to breath a word of this to Mac. I do not want to get his hopes up when I’m not sure I can deliver.” 

Riley beams and jumps up to hug her boss. “Thank you, Matty. It’ll mean so much to Mac if you pull this off.” 

Matty can’t help but smile as she hugs Riley. “I know. Now beat it and let me make some calls.” 

* * *

Matty calls in every favor she can for their resident genius, and it pays off, because she gets through to talk to Jack. 

“Dalton. I need you back in LA.” Matty says, tone stern like maybe that will keep Jack from questioning her demands. 

“Good to hear from you, too, boss, but I’m kinda in the middle of somethin’ here,” Jack says and scans his surroundings, the tent he’s standing in, the jungle he and his men have taken up camp in. “I’d love to come home. But I got work to do.” 

Matty sighs, “Mac’s dad died,” she says barely above a whisper. 

Jack presses the phone receiver against his chest and swears under his breath. “He’s not doin’ so good then?” 

Matty shakes her head and sits down on the chair in the war room. “No, he’s not. Mac’s had a lot going on since you left, and Riley says she doesn’t think we’ll ever get him back to normal without you.” 

Jack sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “The army ain’t just gonna let me jump ship, Matty, you know that.” 

Matty smiles. “Actually, they are. I called in a few favors and they’ve agreed to get someone to replace you.” 

Jack laughs. “So, you threatened every higher up there is, huh?” He asks and then he takes a deep breath. “Yeah, alright. If Mac needs me, get me home.” 

Matty lets out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding and nods, typing something quickly on her tablet. “Good. Transport is being arranged as we speak. See you in a week.” She says and hangs the phone up, thanking every deity she knows that she’s managed to get this done. 

* * *

Riley is over the moon when Matty tells her that Jack’s coming home, that Matty pulled off something Riley wasn’t sure at all could happen. 

The week is two missions back to back, so it flies by but by the time the end comes, she’s exhausted and so is Mac. And as much as she wants to just go back to Mac’s and curl up on the couch, she’s on pick up duty for Jack at the airport in an hour. 

She tells Mac that she has an errand to run when they get back to the house, jumps out of the truck and waits to till Mac is inside to jump into Jack’s GTO and pull it out of the garage. 

She gets there just as he’s stepping out of the boarding gate and her face breaks into a grin when Jack sees her. She runs into his arms, letting him pick her up and twirl her around like she’s a little girl again. 

“You are a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart.” Jack laughs as he sits her back down “I missed you,” he says, picking his bag up from where he dropped it and slinging an arm over her shoulders. 

“I missed you. It’s so good to see you.” Riley says, letting him hold her against his side as they walk. 

“Matty tells me this was your idea. Says our boy isn’t his usual sunshine self.” Jack looks down at her and the smile drops from her face. 

“Mac’s had a hard time since you left. Cannot catch a break. I thought maybe a little surprise would put a smile on his face.” Riley explains, twisting her hands together. 

Jack nods as they walk outside. “I hope so,” he sighs. 

As they walk outside, Riley pulls the keys from her pocket as they walk toward the car, offering them to Jack. 

Jack’s eyes widen and now he’s grinning again. “You brought my baby?” He asks and Riley laughs, nods. 

He whoops and jumps into the driver’s side. “Oh, I missed you.” He says as he starts the car and the engine purrs to life. 

Once they get on the freeway and settle on a radio station, Riley feels Jack’s eyes on her. “You gonna tell me what else has happened?” He asks her. 

“It’s not for me to tell. Ask Mac, okay? It’s his to talk about.” 

Jack eyes her for a minute and concedes. “Okay,” he agrees, and they spend the rest of the drive recounting the trials and tribulations of Riley’s love life. 

* * *

Mac doesn’t think much of Riley running off when they get back from work. He thinks her taking Jack’s car is a little odd, but maybe she’s just missing him. He gets that and he knows Riley wouldn’t let anything happen to Jack’s prized possession. 

Mac wonders where Jack is right now. Wonders how he’s doing, if he’s close to finishing the mission, if he thinks about Mac as often as Mac thinks about him. Probably not, says the little voice in Mac’s head. He's too busy for you. There are things way more important than you. That’s why he’s not here with you right now, why he hasn’t come – 

Mac’s downward spiral is cut off by the sound of the GTO pulling into the garage. Mac realizes a few tears have fallen and he wipes them away, doesn’t want Riley to know he’s been crying. He hears the front door open and close, hears footsteps coming toward him so he turns, plasters on a fake smile. 

“Hey, Riley, how was your –“ He starts to ask but the person that steps out into the deck light is not Riley. 

“Jack?” 

* * *

Riley tells Jack to drop her at Desi’s on his way to Mac’s, that they have plans for girl’s night, and Jack doesn't believe her but he drops her off anyway, figures it’s an excuse to give Mac and Jack some time alone. 

Jack is more than ready to see Mac, wishes he’d been here for him the whole time, regrets ever leaving. He especially regrets the way they left things. A handshake, Dalton? Pathetic. By the time he gets to Mac’s his heart is pounding, because he doesn’t even know if Mac wants to see him. He just hopes Matty didn’t waste all those favors on nothing; hopes he can help put his boy back together. 

Jack thinks about knocking but decides to just go inside, not like Mac ever locks his door when he's home anyway. He closes the door behind him, and he can see Mac out on the deck, facing the view, white knuckle grip on the railing. 

“Hey, Riley, how was your –“ Jack hears as he steps out onto the deck, Mac’s sentence cutting off when he realizes it’s not Riley standing in front of him. 

“Jack?” 

“In the flesh.” Jack says with a smile. He can tell Mac’s been crying, his eyes are bloodshot and shiny. He looks exhausted, pale and thin, and Jack hates it. 

Mac’s lip starts wobbling and he takes one, two, three steps before wrapping Jack in a crushing hug. “I missed you so much.” Mac says and Jack can hear that he’s crying. 

“I missed you, Mac. More than you know.” Jack says, letting out a deep breath to try to keep from crying himself, out of relief to be home and out of sadness to see Mac like this. 

They stay like that for a minute and then Mac lets go, wiping at his face and talking a mile a minute. “Why are you home? Did you get Kovacs? How come you didn’t let me know? Was this why Riley’s been acting so odd?” 

“Probably. She told Matty you were having a hard time, said she thought maybe I could help, so Matty pulled some strings and pulled me off the op early.” Jack explains and he already knows what Mac will say next. 

“Jack, you should have stayed and gotten Kovacs. I’m fine, you didn’t need to come home for me.” He says predictably and Jack shakes his head. 

“They got me a very capable replacement. They can get him without me. You needed me here, so I'm here. You’re not fine, I know you better than that.” Jack says firmly. 

Mac doesn’t say anything, just looks down at his feet, kicks at a chip in the wooden decking. 

“Do you wanna tell me what’s been going on?” Jack prompts, reaching out to squeeze Mac’s shoulder. 

Mac takes a deep breath and finally meets his eyes again. “Charlie died,” Mac begins, sitting down by the unlit fire pit, “the Phoenix disbanded. But then the Phoenix got bought and the team came back to work and I thought things were finally looking up. And then...” He trails off, wipes at his eyes. “I found out my aunt works for a terrorist organization, and my dad died.” By now he’s barely holding it together, chest aching with the effort of holding back his tears. 

Jack sits down next to him, pulls Mac against him and says, “I’m sorry,” and Mac loses it. He buries his head in Jack’s chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, like if he lets go Jack won’t be there when he opens his eyes. And Jack just lets him, holds him tight and runs a hand over Mac’s hair, soothes and shushes him and tells him it’s okay, to let it out, I got you, darlin’. 

Mac finally pulls himself together, breathing slowing down and tears drying up. “I’m sorry for this. I know this isn’t what you wanted to come home to.” He says, removing himself from Jack’s arms, feeling a little embarrassed. 

“Hey, none of that, now. You don’t gotta apologize, I came home to be here for you. If you need to cry, yell, talk, that’s what I’m here for.” Jack tells him gently, squeezing his knee gently. 

Mac twists a loose thread on his shirt, not looking at Jack. “I thought you weren’t coming home. I thought you left because of me.” He says, voice still shaky. 

Jack’s heart broke a little and he felt something in his chest begin to ache. “Look at me,” he says, waiting for Mac to meet his eyes. “Nothing in the world was ever gonna keep me from comin’ back to you. I left because I felt an obligation to take care of Kovacs, not to get away from you. I missed you every day, Mac. Everything I did was so I could come home to you and Riley in one piece.” He said, holding Mac’s gaze so Mac knew he was being serious. 

Mac’s eyes are welling up again and he smiles sadly. “Thank you for coming back. I feel so alone, you know? No parents, no siblings. Just me. And Riley has been great and so has Bozer, and Desi, even though we broke up.” Mac explains. “It’s just not the same as having you home.” 

Riley had explained the whole Mac and Desi thing, the breakup and make up, and assured Jack that Desi still always has Mac’s back in the field. Jack didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to hold it against Desi after she'd done him such a big favor. It’s not like she knew he was head over heels for Mac. No one knew that but Riley, and that was only because she pried it out of him. It had made leaving and being away from Mac that much harder and sitting here with him was like aloe on a burn, it relieved so much pain. 

“I’ll never leave you again, if I can help it.” Jack promises and Mac’s face is so open, so expressive, with those bright eyes, looking at him with so much love, so much affection that it takes so much of Jack not to kiss him. 

Instead he reaches out, wipes a stray tear from Mac’s cheek. It’s an intimate motion and he thinks Mac might shy away from it, but instead he leans into it, closing his eyes, and yeah, okay, Jack really might have to lay one on him. 

“You leave again and I’m coming with you. Don’t like the job as much without you. I could barely think straight in the field at first.” Mac opens his eyes and Jack can tell he means it, and Jack nods. 

“I’ll be back on your six soon as we get back to work.” Jack assures him and it gets a genuine smile out of Mac that makes Jack’s heart swell. “God, is it good to see you smile.” Jack says before he can think better of it and Mac flushes red. 

“Good to have a reason to.” Mac says softly, biting at his lower lip and Christ, Jack has a problem because somehow, they’ve gotten close enough to touch, knees touching, fingers grazing where they are resting on the deck. 

After a second of internal debating, Jack says fuck it, and just goes for it. He reaches out, rests a hand on the side of Mac’s neck, and pulls him into a kiss. 

Now, listen, Jack has kissed a lot of people in his life, men and women alike, but there is nothing that compares to this one. Mac doesn’t pull away like Jack was afraid he would, doesn’t even hesitate, and his lips are so soft, warm, and Jack thinks he could do this forever, stay with Mac like this. Jack kisses him until he absolutely has to breathe, and even then, he only pulls away enough to rest his forehead against Mac’s. 

“What was that for?” Mac gasps, catching his breath. 

“Just wanted to do that for a long time. I couldn’t help myself.” Jack tells him. 

“How long is a long time?” Mac asks, leaning back so he could see Jack’s face, 

Jack looks away, clears his throat a little. “Uh. Since our second go-around in Afghanistan.” 

Mac laughs and Jack is a little embarrassed. “Yeah? Me, too.” He says and Jack gives him an incredulous look. “I just didn’t think I was allowed.” 

“You were always allowed, darlin’. I’d have never turned you down.” Jack presses a chaste kiss on his mouth and Mac smiles softly. 

“If I’d have known that, I’d have told you how I felt a long time ago. Woulda saved me a lot of heartbreak.” Mac says, fingers trailing down Jack’s chest. 

Jack raises his eyebrows. “How exactly do you feel?” 

“I love you, Jack. I figured that was obvious now.” 

Jack feels like he might explode he’s so happy and he kisses Mac again, smiling into it. “I love you,” he says against his mouth and Mac sighs happily. 

“Let’s go inside. Think there’s a little lost time to make up for.” Mac says softly and kisses Jack gently before getting up and starting towards the door. 

“Read my mind, Mac.” 

* * *

When Riley comes home that evening and sees the trail of clothes to Mac’s bedroom door and hears them giggling inside, she just shakes her head and thanks God for noise cancelling headphones. 

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys, thanks for reading! hope you liked it!  
> leave me a comment or kudos if you enjoyed and i might do a little morning after chapter if you guys want!


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